(NAPSI)—Anyone who has ever seen a retirement account take a hit
during a recession or stock market correction knows firsthand that it takes a
mental and emotional toll. New research, however, has discovered that it also
makes you sick.

An article published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical
Association, based on a study of how 8,714 adults fared over a 20-year
period, concluded that a “negative wealth shock” can increase an
individual’s risk of dying within the next two decades by more than 50
percent.

As The Wall Street Journal explained, “losing one’s life
savings in the short term might curtail one’s life span in the long
term.”

What Can Happen

It’s not entirely clear to researchers how the loss of retirement
savings can damage your health—perhaps it’s related to increasing
blood pressure or cardiovascular events—but the scientific findings are
consistent with a growing body of knowledge:

• The Population Reference Bureau studied the effects of the Great
Recession of 2007 to 2009 on older Americans’ health and well-being and
found that financial losses during that time translated into a higher risk of
mental and physical health problems with potential long-term consequences.

• The Federal Reserve released a briefing paper in 2013 that found “lower
levels of life satisfaction” correspond to “greater levels of
financial stress”—58 percent of older adults who said they were
not very satisfied with life also reported having major financial stress.

What You Can Do

There is no magic bullet to prevent your retirement savings from being
depleted by a major financial shock. Economic downturns are inevitable, stock
market volatility is rising and unexpected expenses—such as a sudden
hospital bill or home repairs—can wreak havoc on even the very best retirement
funding plans. One option for coping with a negative financial shock is to
unlock hidden value from everyday assets you may no longer need.

For example, many seniors are surprised to learn that one potential asset
for generating immediate cash is a life insurance policy. A life insurance
policy is considered your personal property, so you have the right to sell
that policy anytime you like. When a consumer sells a policy—something
called a “life settlement” transaction—the policy owner
receives a cash payment and the purchaser of the policy assumes all future
premium payments, then receives the death benefit upon the death of the
insured. Candidates for life settlements are typically aged 70 years or
older, with a life insurance policy that has a death benefit of at least
$100,000.

If you own a life insurance policy you no longer need or can afford, you
may be able to protect your retirement savings—and your personal health—by
selling that policy for immediate cash.

Learn More

For further facts about life settlements, visit www.LISA.org or call the LISA office at (888)
793-3946.

“If you own a life insurance
policy you no longer need or can afford, you may be able to protect your
retirement savings—and your personal health—by selling that
policy for immediate cash through something called a “life
settlement” transaction. http://bit.ly/2tCderr”